Medical science researchers and practitioners are increasingly giving more attention to the development of less-intrusive diagnostic and therapeutic medical procedures for use in the care of patients, thereby avoiding otherwise required conventional surgery and the consequent high costs of patient hospitalization. Examples of such less-intrusive diagnostic and therapeutic procedures include laparoscopic surgery, placement of drainage catheters, fine needle aspiration biopsies, stereotactic radiation therapy, needle injection of drugs (including radiological drugs), soft tissue destruction by laser beam, trocar insertion of cannulae, and the like, each accomplished in relation to a particular patient's anatomic target and preferred vector path.
Medical equipment manufacturers also have given attention to the development and marketing of apparatus for use in effecting less-intrusive diagnostic and therapeutic medical procedures, and often such apparatus has been comparatively complex in design, costly to obtain, and difficult and time-consuming to utilize.
One of the more recent stereotactic apparatus developments is disclosed and claimed in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,690,108, granted Nov. 25, 1997.
Experience since the filing date of the patent application resulting in U.S. Pat. No. 5,690,108, however, has led to the conclusion that in some applications or instances, e.g. such as taking biopsy specimens, etc. from a human female breast, the earlier stereotactic apparatus may be significantly improved, and such is one of the objectives of the present invention.
Other advantages and objects of the invention will become apparent during a careful and thoughtful consideration of the descriptive materials which follow.